Friday, July 11, 2014

Adios, for Now

For nearly three years, we have been posting blogs under the
title, “Your Health Matters” and sharing them on our website, through an
electronic newsletter and in other ways when opportunities were present. We
have covered a wide range of topics, from texting and driving to diabetes, organ
donation to good nutrition. We’ve highlighted healthy employees at Meritus
Health and promoted new programs and services in cancer care, domestic violence
prevention and stroke prevention.

Our vision for the Your Health Matters blog was stated in
our very first posting: We decided to start a blog as a way to get more
information to our community about staying healthy. While our methods may
occasionally change, our mission is still the same – population and community
health improvement.

With the changing health care environment, we are always
looking at our time and our processes to see where we can be more efficient and
perhaps where we may need to freshen things up a bit to keep our community
engaged. One place we have recently invested time and resources has been our
redesigned website, www.meritushealth.com.
There you can find all of the information you need on the programs and services
of Meritus Health and Meritus Medical Center, as well as updates on new
physicians and providers in our community.

Additionally, our website now offers or will soon offer:

·Connection to a collection of our weekly Health
Matters radio show covering a range of important topics and issues.

·A Health Library full of current news articles,
tools including risk assessments and quizzes to take, healthy recipes and more.

We are encouraging each of you to visit our website to take
a look at this new content and, while you are there, to subscribe for our
bimonthly electronic newsletter under the “Your Health Matters” button on the
main page. This is how we will be communicating with you in the coming months,
as this is our final blog. Our past blogs will remain archived on our website
for visitors to reference. Meantime, please stay in communication with us
through www.meritushealth.com
because your health matters to us!

Tuesday, May 6, 2014

Posted on April 16, 2014from www.healthymorselsfromheal.wordpress.com/

HEAL of Washington County
wants to inspire people to “rethink” many of their popular drink choices as a
way to improve their health. People often don’t realize how many of their
daily calories and large amounts of added sugar are coming from these
beverages. Drinking beverages like soda, sports drinks and energy drinks which
are loaded with sugar can be harmful to your health and may lead to obesity,
heart disease and diabetes. Water is the best choice and has numerous health
benefits including keeping you hydrated, boosting energy production, and
flushing body waste.

Are you up for the challenge?
We’re challenging you to Rethink Your Drink! Simply switch from drinking
sugar-sweetened beverages to water and track the amount of water you drink for
6 weeks. Prizes and information will be provided throughout the challenge to
keep you motivated. The challenge officially starts on May 19th, but register
now and we will keep you up to date on all the latest challenge news!

If you’re worried about making the switch to water, try
infusing your water with a few healthy ingredients to help you enjoy drinking
it more! It’s simple to do and will leave you feeling refreshed and well
hydrated as the hotter months approach. Here are a few of our favorite recipes
to get you started.

Aside from tasting delicious, these drinks look beautiful
too. And keeping 2-3 flavors in your fridge offers enough variety to ensure
that your taste buds never get bored. To keep your varieties budget-friendly,
simply choose fruits that are in season and snip some herbs from your garden.

If you’re looking to take that next step toward better
health, sign up for the challenge today! Encourage your family, co-workers and
friends to join you. Rethink Your Drink!

About Me

Meritus Health – the largest healthcare provider in Western Maryland – is located at the crossroads of Western Maryland, southern Pennsylvania, and the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia. Our programs span the continuum of healthcare, ranging from inpatient care to occupational health services to physician practices and outpatient care.
Meritus Health welcomes discussion, commentary, questions and community involvement. However, to afford a high level of respect to patients, physicians, customers, and employees, we ask that you refrain from defamatory or rude comments. Please keep your posts relevant and respectful. Meritus Health reserves the right to remove comments, posts, and members for inappropriate postings, including spam, inappropriate language, and racism. Meritus Health will not tolerate personal attacks against anyone affiliated with the health system.